Functional morphology of the pharyngeal teeth of the ocean sunfish, Mola mola
Benjamin Flaum,
Michael J. Blumer,
Mason N. Dean
et al.
Abstract:Many fish use a set of pharyngeal jaws in their throat to aid in prey capture and processing, particularly of large or complex prey. In this study—combining dissection, CT scanning, histology, and performance testing—we demonstrate a novel use of pharyngeal teeth in the ocean sunfish (Mola mola), a species for which pharyngeal jaw anatomy had not been described. We show that sunfish possesses only dorsal pharyngeal jaws where, in contrast to their beaklike oral teeth, teeth are recurved spikes, arranged in thr… Show more
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